Shock absorber



Sept. 22 1925. 1,554,249

E. R. WOLF SHOCK ABSORBER Filed Nov. 20 1924 129- i 77 j nn/A v gnucnfoiPatented Sept. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES- 1,554,249 PATENT OFFICE.

mnwnm; a. WOLF, ormmmr, FLoRInA;

snocx nnsoanim.

Application filed November 20,1924; Serial No. 751,165.

To. all whom itimay concern:

from the fact that the piston rod extends intothe cylinder in varyingamounts depending on the force of the shock to be absorbed, and a spacemust be left v.in the cylinder equal to the maximum displacement of therod, The fact that the cylinder is not completely filled wit-h liquidsresults in a noticeable jar at the instant that the device starts toabsorb a shock. I

Difficulty has also been experienced in mounting hydraulic shockabsorbers on'auto mobiles in such a manner as to provide for the sidesway of the body relative to the supporting axles. i

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above defects byproviding an improved hydraulic shock absorber which is so constructedthat the cylinder may-be completely filled with liquid,and which is somounted that the side swayof' the body will in no way affect the properfunctioning of the device.

Another object of this inyention is to pro-.

I vide novel means for permitting substantially free flow of the liquidpast the same in the cylinder when'the automobile body and axle haverelative movement towards each' other, and to resist flow of the liquidpastthe same when said body and axle have relative movement away fromeach other.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel motion-transmittingmeans for the'device which is so constructed thatthe cylinder normallyassumes a horizontal posi tron, thereby decreasing the space requiredfor its installation I 'Other objects of the invention are to provide adevice which is inexpensive tomanufacture, simple and rugged inconstruction and one which may be readily applied to automobiles now inuse;

The lnventlon v1s capable of recelvlng a variety ofmech-anicalexpressions, some of which are shown on the accompanyingdrawings, but it is to be expressly understood that the drawings arefor-purposes of il lustration only and arenot'to be construed-as 'adefinition ofthe limits of'the invention, reference being had to theappended claims for that purpose.

l h a ings 1 s a side elevation illustrating-o embodiment of theinventive idea;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, somewhat enlarged, of thecylinder andfluid controlling means;

Figs-3 and 4 are sectional views, taken on the lines 33 and 44,respectively, of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail View, in section, illustrating a secondtype of means for 1 controlling the fiow of liquid in the .cyl-

inder.

'.Referring' to the drawings: Wherein like I reference numerals refer tolike parts throughout the severalviews, 6 is an axle and 7 a portion ofan automobile body, the latter being-mounted on the axle in any suitablemanner' known in the art, as by means ofsprings (not shown) Secured tothe body portion 7 at a suitable point is a sup,-

porting member 8 for a liquid containing cylinder 9,-Preferably,'1nember 8 is provided with an inwardly extending spindle orpivot portion 8 which freely turns in, and

is supported by, the body portion 7. A

bracket 10 of any suitable type may be'secured to the inner surface ofportion 7, as by means of rivetsill, to provide a bearing surface forspindle8' and to strengthen the body at the point where the spindlepasses through the same. Retaining means, such as, nut12, is preferablyemployed for securing member 8 in'position- If desired, the member 8 maybe formed in two parts, the'outerportion or strapv 8 surrounding theonter half of the cylinder 9 and being secured to the inner portion bymeans of bolts 13; Such a mounting permits cylinder 9 tomove in avertical plane.

In the form shown, the cylinder comprises a tubular portion 14threadedat its op osite ends to receive cylinder heads 15. A lling plug16 may be threaded or otherwise removably secured in one of the cylinderheads to permit the; cylinder to be filled with liquid. Each of thecylinder heads is provided with packing 17 and a suitable glandfnut 18.which latter surrounds piston rod 19. its shown in Fig. 2, the rod 19extends through the opposite ends of the cylinderand may be formed intwo sections 19 and 19 to facilitate assembly of the parts. The innerend of the section 19 is exterior-1y, threaded as at 20, to receive avalve cage21 which may be retained in position by means ofa lock nutPreferably, the cage 21 has an outside diameter substantially less thanthe inside diameter of the cylinder, and is provided with ports oropenings 21", while the inner periphery of theeage 1s threaded toreceive a flanged disk 23 provided with a plurality of openings 24.Extending through a central opening in disk 23 is the section 19 of thepiston rod which is preferably of reduced diameter at its inner end.This reduced portion is exteriorly threaded and extends into a cup 25formedin the inner end of rod section 19 Slidably mounted on rod section19 and within the cage 21, is a disk valve 26 which is normallymaintained in seated position on disk 23 by means of aspring 27surrounding section 19 and interposed between said valve and-the cage21.

Suitable means are provided for operatively connecting the rod 19 to theaxle 6 whereby relative movement ofthe body portion 7 and axle 6 istransmitted to said rod but side sway of the body will not preventtheproper functioning of the device. As shown, this means comprises abell crank lever 28 which is connected at its cent 'al portions bysuitable universal joint means 29 to the axle 6. The vertical arm 28 ofthe bell crank lever is pivotally connected in any suitable manner toone end of rod 19 while the horizontal arm 28 of said lever is pivotallyconnected by universal joint means 30 to a vertical link 31. The upperend of the latter is preferably pivotally connected to the'cylindricalstem 8 of supporting meur ber 8 between body portion 7 and the cylinder9.

Operation: When the irregularities of the surface. over which thevehicle is moving cause relative movement of the body portion 7 towardaxle 6, arm 28 is forced down- 'w ardly by link 31, the lever 28swinging about the joint means 29. Arm 28 is forced to the right, asviewed in Fig. 1, carrying with it rod 19 and the piston elements, andthe left hand end ofcylinder 9 is simultaneously swung upwardly aboutspindle 8.

The pressure of. the liquid on the valve disk 26 moves the-latter to theleft, compressing the spring 27, uncovering ports 24 and 21', andpermitting free passage of the piston elements through the liquid. Onthe rebound, when the body'and axle have. relatlve movement away fromeach other, the valve 26 is forced onto its seat and the pieton elementsand rod 19 move back slowly to normal position as the liquid tlowsthrough the annular space between the valve cage 21 and the walls of thecylinder 9. Since the piston rod 19 at all times extends through theopposite ends of the cylinder, regardless of the position of the pistonelements, the displacement of the piston rod is at all times the same,and the cylinder may be completely filled with liquid. The sectionalconstruction of rod 19 greatly facili tates the assembly of the parts. I

Fig. 5 illustrates another manner in which the piston elements may beformed. shown, the piston-rod 32 is integral throughout its length andat suitable points is provided with openings to receive a pair of pins38 which extend through the rod to serve as retaining elements for adisk 34 which surrounds rod 32 and which is provided with a suitablenumber of openings 35.. Slidably mounted on rod 32 is a second disk 36having an outer diameter that is much smaller than the inner diameter ofthe cylinder. A pin 37 extending through rod 32 serves as a stop theported disk 34. Since the disks34 and 36 are symmetrically formed andthe pressure on the faces thereof is the same at all points, there is notendency for therdisks to cant and bind in the cylinder. Movement ofrod32 in one direction results in disk 36 being moved to a positionadjacent pin 37, uncovering parts 35, thereby permitting the pistonelements to move freely through the liquid. Movement of rod 32 in theopposite or rebound direction, results in disk 36 being moved to coverthe parts 35, whereby mov ment of the rod 32 is effectively checked.

The invention is capable of receiving a variety of mechanicalexpressions, some of which will now readily suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art, While changes may be made in the details ofconstruction and arrangement without departing from the spirit of theinvention. Reference is therefore to be had to the claims heretoappended for a. definition of the limits of the invention.

What I elaim is:

1. A hydraulic shock absorber comprising in combination with a body anda supporting axle, a cylinder carried by said body, a piston in saidcylinder, a rod for said piston extending through the opposite ends ofthe cylinder, a bell crank lever fulcrumed at its. elbow on said axle,means pivotally connecting one arm of said lever to said rod, and amember pivoted to said body and the other arm o fsai'd lever.

2. A device of the class described comprising in combination with anautomobile body and a supporting axle, a liquid containing iao cylinderpivotally secured to'said body for ton and having its opposite ends-extending through the ends 0 the cylinder, a-bell cranklever, universaljoint means connectallyj connecting the lever to said rod, a mem+ berpivotally connected to said body, and

tain'ing cylinder, a member pivotally con nectin'g-said cylinder to saidhody a piston universal joint means connecting said mem her and lever.3. A device of the class-described comody and a supporting axle, aliquid containing cylinder secured to said bodyn for pivotal movement ina vertical plane, means slidable in said cylinder for permitting freeflow of the liquid when moved in one direc tion and opposing the flow ofliquid past, the

same when moved in the opposite direction,

a .rod secured to said means extending through-the opposite ends of thecylinder, a lever, universal joint fulcrum connecting said lever to saidaxle, means connecting one arm of the lever to said rod, and almemberpivotally connected to the other arm .of sai'd ever and saidbody. i a py I 4. A device of the class described, comprising, in combination withan automobile od-y' and a supporting axle, a liquid-containing cylindermounted on said body to turn in ave'rtical plane relative to said body,a rod extending through the opposite ends of said cylinder andslidabletherein, apiston.

carried by the rod, a bell-crank leverfulcrumed at its elbow on saidaxle, a "pivotal connection between one arm of said lever and said istonrod, and a link pivotally connecte to thebody at one end and to theotherarm of said lever at itsopposite end; ing'said lever togsai'd axle,means fo'rpivot- 5; A device of the class described com I rod'for saidcylinder, a piston secured to the rod and slidable in said cylinder, abell crank lever connectedto said axle for universal movement, meanspivotally connecting one arm of said lever to said'rod, a connectingelement pivotally' connected to said memberand universal joint meansconnecting said. a 6. 'Adevice of the class described, compris'element'to the other arm of'said lever.

ing, in combination witha body and a supallyconnected to said be throughtheopposite ends of the cylinder, fluid-controlling v means carried bythevrod porting member therefor a cylinder pivot} dy, a rodextendingwithin said cylinder, said'means consisting of a flat diskhaving a center opening through which said rod passes and having portsassing therethrough, pins passing throu the said rod one on either sideof said isk, a member slidable on the rod to cover theiports'in saiddisk, and means for limiting the .movement of said slidable member. 1

Intestimony. whereof- I have signed this specification.

